Rappers attempting to sing or play instruments?!?!

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I'm not sure if the topic has been covered, but after hearing the new Outkast album(disappointing other than two good songs), Andre 3000
that's some terrible shit. I'm all for attempting new things and progressing, but let us list the failed attempts like Q-tip. What's their appeal to be some neo-soul star? They attempt for Marvin Gaye but sound like bad 80s soul or jazz.

Check your head by the Beastie Boys is the only album where I think the artist got it some what right.

― brain, Monday, 15 September 2003 20:34 (twenty-three years ago)

If you can point me at the "bad 80s soul or jazz" that sounds like "She's Alive" and "She Lives In My Lap", i'd be most grateful.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 15 September 2003 20:39 (twenty-three years ago)

I'm not talking about those songs, but other than a few electronic tinkering, it ain't shit.

― brain, Monday, 15 September 2003 20:44 (twenty-three years ago)

ugh this thread already makes me wanna puke

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 15 September 2003 20:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh my God! Singing rappers! Rappers playing instruments! Don't they know they're supposed to just talk into the mic and then go play P2!?!

― ugh god fuck (nickalicious), Monday, 15 September 2003 20:47 (twenty-three years ago)

first thing I thought when I saw thread title: "Ten bucks says the Beastie Boys get off scot-free in this one." Yes!

p.s.: Mike D is a worse drummer than Meg White

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 15 September 2003 20:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Okay, so could you point me at the "bad 80s soul or jazz" that sounds like "Love Hater", "Happy Valentine's Day", "Spread", "Hey Ya", "Roses" and "Dracula's Wedding"? Thanks in advance.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 15 September 2003 20:48 (twenty-three years ago)

"first thing I thought when I saw thread title: "Ten bucks says the Beastie Boys get off scot-free in this one." Yes!
p.s.: Mike D is a worse drummer than Meg White "

Who says you can't be shitty at an instrument and not write good songs. Or be part of a group that has written a few good songs.

The Beastie boys should get off all over the place.

― brain, Monday, 15 September 2003 21:02 (twenty-three years ago)

Luke warm up chuck

― toast, Monday, 15 September 2003 21:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Ah, whack of shit.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Monday, 15 September 2003 21:09 (twenty-three years ago)

this hurts my head like a hundred dogs.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Monday, 15 September 2003 21:37 (twenty-three years ago)

Can you point me to the parts of *Check Your Head* that inept new age Tibetan jazz-fusion and/or generic hardcore morons the Beastie Boys got "somewhat right"?

― chuck, Monday, 15 September 2003 21:51 (twenty-three years ago)

duh, Chuck--the rap songs that reference '70s TV shows and are therefore easy to get into! also the one that went "I think I'm losing my mind this time" like 900 times and called it a verse. you know, REAL rap!

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:04 (twenty-three years ago)

(haha I'm such a fan of "real" rap most of the time but I think you know what I'm getting at)

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:06 (twenty-three years ago)

i like q-tip's kamaal (well at least the single/ep thing i have) anyone hate it and want to make this pretty lil thing a happy boy?

― JasonD (JasonD), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:13 (twenty-three years ago)

it never came out as anything other than promo, hello slsk et al

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:14 (twenty-three years ago)

PHRENOLOGY GODDAMMIT

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:20 (twenty-three years ago)

>>duh, Chuck--the rap songs that reference '70s TV shows and are therefore easy to get into! also the one that went "I think I'm losing my mind this time" like 900 times and called it a verse. you know, REAL rap!<<

Oh okay, that makes sense -- I thought he meant that one where they rhymed "commercial" with "commercial". That was pretty darn clever!

― chuck, Monday, 15 September 2003 22:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Madlib! He's still decent-to-nice on the mic and has taught himself to play a truckload of instruments.

― rob geary (rgeary), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Also, it's been noted many times but Missy's singing voice is gorgeous.

― rob geary (rgeary), Monday, 15 September 2003 22:37 (twenty-three years ago)

also, eminem is a goog singer .... BAHAHAAAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Monday, 15 September 2003 23:28 (twenty-three years ago)

'good', that is, of course. i have to go to bed. now. good night.

― Jay Kid (Jay K), Monday, 15 September 2003 23:29 (twenty-three years ago)

it never came out as anything other than promo

Deservedly so as well (I mean, I agree the original question is utter ass but goddamn was the Kamaal thing total bleah).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 15 September 2003 23:32 (twenty-three years ago)

b-b-but i like it

― JasonD (JasonD), Monday, 15 September 2003 23:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Sounds like a good idea to me. If they have a talent for it, that is (and otherwise, they shouldn't have a recording contract at all)

Add songwriting too btw. True songwriting, as in writing tunes not only lyrics.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 00:03 (twenty-three years ago)

Madlib can't play the keyboards for shit. He should've, y'know, learn how to really play them before he came out with YNQ and noodled and doodled his way into the center of mediocrity.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 02:47 (twenty-three years ago)

that YNQ album bugged the shit out of me. at first i thought it was a cool idea, but then i heard him "noodle and doodle" and immediately sold it.

― JasonD (JasonD), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 03:28 (twenty-three years ago)

hah, I knew I was asking for it bringing up Madlib. Yep, the first YNQ album is pretty amateurish, but it hits some nice grooves and I sure as hell can't play any better, so it works for me. The more recent YNQ stuff is loads better technically, and I think he's playing a lot of instruments on his productions as Madlib now also.

― rob geary (rgeary), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 04:29 (twenty-three years ago)

I can't lay an egg but I'll still send a bad one back. (haha I'm not trying to pick on you rob)

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 06:18 (twenty-three years ago)

Touche! Ha ha, I know, what am I doing defending that album. It's pretty good for driving at night, honest!

― rob geary (rgeary), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 07:15 (twenty-three years ago)

no, go ahead and defend it. just saw an opening, couldn't resist. nothing personal. :-)

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 07:16 (twenty-three years ago)

p.s.: Mike D is a worse drummer than Meg White

-- M Matos (michaelangelomato...), September

But Meg White is a very good drummer, so are you saying Mike D is merely good?

― mei (mei), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 07:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmm...I'd rather hear *new* tepid funk-jazz than third-hand, deservedly obscure funk-jazz?

Nah, I can't back that up.

― rob geary (rgeary), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 07:35 (twenty-three years ago)

x-post

― rob geary (rgeary), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 07:35 (twenty-three years ago)

What was the name of that instrumental album that Sonny Cheeba from Camp-Lo did? That was tight.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 15:41 (twenty-three years ago)

[sigh]

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 15:47 (twenty-three years ago)

What?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 15:56 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know what's cornier.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 15:59 (twenty-three years ago)

giblets or kernels

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:01 (twenty-three years ago)

Okay anyway I hate to take this thread seriously but Cee-Lo needs some mention up in here what with being one of the best rappers and singers like anywhere ever right now and also having produced his solo album and played hella keyboards on it (and yes Geir he wrote the songs, lyrics AND melodies AND chord changes and all).

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:08 (twenty-three years ago)

k-os sings

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:30 (twenty-three years ago)

I was replying to Mei, Nick

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:33 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh come on, Mike D is a surprisngly good drummer. I wouldn't count on him to throw down over a whole show, perhaps, but what got on the records is good stuff. The drum break in 'Pow' should convince anyone.

The Soul Rebels Brass Band are fucking GREAT musicians and all of them are pretty decent rappers (although I suppose that would be more in the category of musicians attempting to rap).

Mos Def can rap and sing just fine, and his drumming on Umi Says holds up. WTF ever happened to him, anyway?

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:42 (twenty-three years ago)

"surprisingly good" /= good

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Right on. I thought maybe I had stumbled into another nick-has-shitty-taste minefield by proclaiming love for that Sonny Cheeba-born instrumentals-only album...which google is not helping me find any info about whatsoever, btw.

Mos Def plays organ and guitar and bass too at different parts on Black on Both Sides.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:48 (twenty-three years ago)

Lauryn Hill Unplugged is the sort of thing terrified rappers tell each other about in hushed, furtive voices, always looking out of the corner of their eyes. It is an unspeakable horror. Lil Romeo now cries at the sight of an acoustic guitar.

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Ha ha I fucking LOVE that Lauryn Hill Unplugged disc.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, he may not be wowing anyone with his chops, but given that they were going to do live drums, I don't see how those tracks could have been made much better in terms of the music. They fit the songs perfectly, and the drums SOUND great.

― Jordan (Jordan), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 16:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Yella from NWA was a DJ not a rapper but he could play the drums pretty well ("Parental Dizcretion Iz Advized", The DOC's "The Grande Finale").

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 17:08 (twenty-three years ago)

apparantly, those guys from Jurassic 5 can sing, so says one of their dads.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 17:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Nelly and 50 Cent have good singing voices and good ideas about how this sort of singing can fit into the context of a hip-hop track. Mos Def has none of these ideas, and his singing voice is pretty shit compared to those two. He should stop singing immediately. Oh, but he plays drums!

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 17:55 (twenty-three years ago)

I have yet to hear 50 Cent sing whatsoever. I've heard Mos Def singing Etta James shit extremely competently.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 18:04 (twenty-three years ago)

I have yet to hear 50 Cent sing whatsoever - buy a radio

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 18:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Okay, I've heard "Magic Stick" and "In the Club", I don't recall him really "singing" in either of those, what's a better example?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 18:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Not to get dogmatic here, but if 50's vocalization on "Magic Stick" and "In da Club" (i.e., "My show, my flow brought me the dough/That brought me all my fancy things...") don't count as singing, then neither do anything by Lou Reed or the entirety of slow-tempo indie rock from 1988-1992.

― Ess, Tuesday, 16 September 2003 19:04 (twenty-three years ago)

I totally agree with that 100%. I dunno, I guess I better listen again, I just don't really recall much in the way of pitch fluctuation in his verses on either of those songs, his delivery has always seemed so monotone to me. Nelly on the other hand, his sing-rapping is something I can totally recognize and it's probably my favorite thing about his style.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 19:13 (twenty-three years ago)

One of my favorite things right now honestly is vocalists doing that hybrid singing/rapping style, which is why it weirds me out that I haven't really noticed 50 doing it.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 19:20 (twenty-three years ago)

"21 Questions" nick

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 16 September 2003 19:43 (twenty-three years ago)

So wait, I don't get what this thread is about. Rappers should only rap? Why?

― David Allen, Wednesday, 17 September 2003 03:31 (twenty-three years ago)

21 Questions and Many Men (Wish Death) are both getting a lot of radio play and have 50 singing. He does have a great voice. (and the sing-songy rap mentioned from In Da Club is one of the first things that hooked me on him.)

― A Girl Named Sam (thatgirl), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 04:12 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh shit I totally hear it in "21 Questions" and now that I recognize it (he's WAY sneakier about it than like Nelly or Ludacris or Talib Kweli) I can hear it real clearly in "In the Club" now too. This is good evidence of my favorite aspect to his style: his ridiculously smooth subtlety.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 17:58 (twenty-three years ago)

Well it's better than singers attempting to rap!@@@!111

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 19:16 (twenty-three years ago)

Hear hear

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 21:02 (twenty-three years ago)

or producers, for that matter. especially producers.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 22:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Jermaine Dupri and Timbaland I am looking at you!!

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 22:57 (twenty-three years ago)

those are the obvious offenders, no doubt there are more! RZA? Puff?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 September 2003 23:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Questlove! ha

― rob geary (rgeary), Thursday, 18 September 2003 00:20 (twenty-three years ago)

tracer i love you but for someone who normally can recognize a good mc youre posting some smallminded bullshit here!!

― trife (simon_tr), Thursday, 18 September 2003 00:24 (twenty-three years ago)

RZA is a good MC! His verse on "It's Yours" is awesome.
(I stand close to walls, like number four the lizard
Enchant a few solar panels, blast off like Roman Candles
Rap vandals, stomp your ass like Wahoo McDaniel
You cocker spaniel dogs, can't fuck with our catalog
Put your lights out and leave your brain inside a fog)

― oops (Oops), Thursday, 18 September 2003 01:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah obviously Jermaine Dupri is great!

(meanwhile yeah 50's a great singer - he totally wipes the floor with Kim in the chorus to "Magic Stick" - best chorus of the year maybe?)

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 18 September 2003 01:35 (twenty-three years ago)

Jermaine Dupri rapped on "The Money Ain't A Thang". Ergo, Jermaine Dupri is great.

― Ally (mlescaut), Thursday, 18 September 2003 01:45 (twenty-three years ago)

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